In a step that has become more routine over the last decade, water exports to the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California have been reduced to avoid killing endangered delta smelt. State and federal water managers said Tuesday that early winter pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta has been curtailed because too many of the native fish were dying at the delta's export pumps. At this point it is difficult to say what effect the pumping cutbacks could have on water deliveries.

In a big win for a little fish, a federal appeals court Thursday upheld delta smelt protections that have cut deliveries of Northern California water to the Southland and the San Joaquin Valley. A panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded in a 2-1 decision that a number of environmental provisions that federal and state water contractors have disputed as ill-founded were in fact justified. In effect, the court backed pumping limits. Written by Judge Jay S. Bybee, a George W. Bush appointee, the opinion is a major blow to the agricultural and urban agencies that have spent years challenging endangered species protections that have curbed water exports from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

A federal judge Friday rejected pleas from environmentalists to temporarily curb pumping of water exports from Northern California that they fear could push the endangered delta smelt closer to extinction. U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger in Fresno sided with state and federal water managers, who contend that the tiny fish have in recent days moved out of harm's way, fleeing the massive pumps that ship water south from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

One thing stood out in the pile of documents released Thursday detailing state plans to replumb California's water hub: Construction could start on the massive project before water managers know whether it will work as intended. The still-evolving proposal, backed by Gov. Jerry Brown's administration and the federal government, is designed to partially restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta environment and halt reductions in delta water exports. But uncertainty over the volume of future water deliveries is likely to linger for years as government scientists try to nail down how much water imperiled salmon and smelt need in the delta.

A federal court order Friday will cut water exports to Southern California next year by up to a third in a bid to save a tiny fish teetering at the brink of extinction in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. In an 11-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger in Fresno said that the delta smelt -- an endangered fish that exists only in the sprawling estuary that is the hub of the state's water system -- is in "imminent peril" without swift action.

Warning that a recent boost in water exports is nudging the delta smelt closer to extinction, environmentalists have asked a federal judge to order state and U.S. officials to cut back pumping that imperils the tiny fish. Increased pumping into aqueducts that move water as far south as San Diego has swelled the number of smelt that have been sucked into pumps and killed in recent days. U.S. District Judge Oliver W.

In a move that could usher in even tighter restrictions on water exports to Southern California, state wildlife regulators have decided to protect another fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The California Fish and Game Commission voted 3 to 0 to adopt protection for longfin smelt. The tiny fish makes its home in the delta, which serves as headwaters for the state and federal canals that send water to Southern California. Those aqueducts, which deliver water to 25 million people and 2 million acres of farmland, have seen exports decline more than 40% in recent weeks because of court-ordered restrictions intended to save another diminutive fish, the delta smelt.

More water may be headed to the Southland and the San Joaquin Valley after a judge concluded Tuesday that a federal agency acted arbitrarily when it imposed pumping limits to protect migrating salmon and steelhead. The decision by U.S. District Court Judge Oliver W. Wanger is the latest development in a tangle of legal challenges to restrictions based on the Endangered Species Act that are cutting water exports from the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta, east of San Francisco. Wanger sharply criticized some of the scientific rationale for the pumping curbs, but stopped short of jettisoning them, saying he needed more information before deciding on a cure.

One thing stood out in the pile of documents released Thursday detailing state plans to replumb California's water hub: Construction could start on the massive project before water managers know whether it will work as intended. The still-evolving proposal, backed by Gov. Jerry Brown's administration and the federal government, is designed to partially restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta environment and halt reductions in delta water exports. But uncertainty over the volume of future water deliveries is likely to linger for years as government scientists try to nail down how much water imperiled salmon and smelt need in the delta.

Recent storms have boosted the snowpack above normal, but state water officials say that water exports to Southern California are being dramatically reduced to protect a tiny endangered fish. A survey by Department of Water Resources crews found the state's snowpack stood at 118% of normal for late February. Meanwhile, the department cut water exports from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to about one-quarter of normal because of court-ordered protections of the delta smelt -- a pinkie-sized fish that can fall prey to the massive pumps that feed aqueducts to Southern California.

In a step that has become more routine over the last decade, water exports to the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California have been reduced to avoid killing endangered delta smelt. State and federal water managers said Tuesday that early winter pumping from the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta has been curtailed because too many of the native fish were dying at the delta's export pumps. At this point it is difficult to say what effect the pumping cutbacks could have on water deliveries.

An earthquake that shuts down water deliveries from Northern California for a year could devastate the Los Angeles County economy, costing $55 billion and wiping out a half-million jobs, according to a new study. The research by a team of economists attempts to gauge the effects of a major earthquake disrupting water deliveries from the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta, which provides roughly a quarter of Southern California's water supply. The report concludes that L.A. County could fairly easily weather a six-month stop in deliveries from the north by ramping up conservation efforts and using reserves stored in Southland reservoirs.

More water may be headed to the Southland and the San Joaquin Valley after a judge concluded Tuesday that a federal agency acted arbitrarily when it imposed pumping limits to protect migrating salmon and steelhead. The decision by U.S. District Court Judge Oliver W. Wanger is the latest development in a tangle of legal challenges to restrictions based on the Endangered Species Act that are cutting water exports from the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta, east of San Francisco. Wanger sharply criticized some of the scientific rationale for the pumping curbs, but stopped short of jettisoning them, saying he needed more information before deciding on a cure.

The big federal pumps that were cranked up over the weekend to send more Northern California water south will be turned down Thursday in the ongoing tug of war between water exports and fish protections. U.S. District Judge Oliver Wanger, who last week temporarily lifted pumping limits designed to protect migrating salmon in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, Wednesday declined to block similar curbs federal biologists say are necessary to save the imperiled delta smelt. That means the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will turn off one of the five pumps it uses to draw water from the delta east of San Francisco.

The delta smelt, a tiny endangered fish causing big headaches for California's water kingpins, could soon get help. A Central Valley lawmaker wants the state to build a hatchery to boost the smelt's flagging population. Sen. Dean Florez (D-Shafter) has proposed a Delta Smelt Preservation and Restoration Act with the primary goal of building at least one hatchery by 2001 to breed the fish. Smelt have been a victim of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta's flagging ecological health and the pull of giant aqueduct pumps that send delta water south.

Recent storms have boosted the snowpack above normal, but state water officials say that water exports to Southern California are being dramatically reduced to protect a tiny endangered fish. A survey by Department of Water Resources crews found the state's snowpack stood at 118% of normal for late February. Meanwhile, the department cut water exports from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to about one-quarter of normal because of court-ordered protections of the delta smelt -- a pinkie-sized fish that can fall prey to the massive pumps that feed aqueducts to Southern California.

Environmentalists on Tuesday hammered a state plan to revamp the process by which it will reallocate water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, roughly two-thirds of the state's fresh water. The new process would govern the San Francisco Bay-Delta hearings, a years-long analysis that resulted last fall in a recommendation to cap water exports from Northern California to Southern California. Several powerful water agencies opposed that idea, which might have limited urban growth and agriculture.

An earthquake that shuts down water deliveries from Northern California for a year could devastate the Los Angeles County economy, costing $55 billion and wiping out a half-million jobs, according to a new study. The research by a team of economists attempts to gauge the effects of a major earthquake disrupting water deliveries from the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta, which provides roughly a quarter of Southern California's water supply. The report concludes that L.A. County could fairly easily weather a six-month stop in deliveries from the north by ramping up conservation efforts and using reserves stored in Southland reservoirs.

In a move that could usher in even tighter restrictions on water exports to Southern California, state wildlife regulators have decided to protect another fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. The California Fish and Game Commission voted 3 to 0 to adopt protection for longfin smelt. The tiny fish makes its home in the delta, which serves as headwaters for the state and federal canals that send water to Southern California. Those aqueducts, which deliver water to 25 million people and 2 million acres of farmland, have seen exports decline more than 40% in recent weeks because of court-ordered restrictions intended to save another diminutive fish, the delta smelt.

A federal court order Friday will cut water exports to Southern California next year by up to a third in a bid to save a tiny fish teetering at the brink of extinction in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. In an 11-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Oliver W. Wanger in Fresno said that the delta smelt -- an endangered fish that exists only in the sprawling estuary that is the hub of the state's water system -- is in "imminent peril" without swift action.